Joy Derham

It is almost eight decades since my father, Jack Lonsdale and my two uncles were imprisoned by the Japanese Army – Japan welcomed me in the name of reconciliation.

In March this year, I made my first visit to Japan. I had been offered a place in the 2024 Japan-Australian Grassroots Exchange Program after submitting a paper on my father’s atrocities at the hands of the Japanese, also selected in the program was the grandson of a POW from Queensland Trent Bielken and a RSL Representative – W.A. President., Duncan Anderson.

More than 125 POW’s and descendants have taken part in this program since it inception in 1997. It is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, it aims to deepen the mutual understanding of the peoples of Japan and Australia by inviting descendants of former Australian POW’s to Japan through the RSL Network.

It is an opportunity for all participants – POW descendants to promote post-war reconciliation, understanding and good will between both countries.

Along with my companions, I spent eight days touring Japan – visiting the POW Research Network where we shared stories for why we were there. I was saddened to listen to their stories of how it was never spoken of in schools when they were being educated, Yoshiko Tamura, President of the Network was very instrumental in introducing the stories of hardship inflicted on the POW’s into schools.

We had meetings with the Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Vice-Minister, who acknowledged Japan’s wartime actions and wrongdoings.

We toured around Tokyo, exploring the Skytree, Gardens in the Imperial Palace and the local Fish Market. We travelled to the Yokohama Commonwealth War Cemetery, laying a wreath and visiting many Australian grave sites.

Visiting Hiroshima was particularly heart wrenching and emotional as the stories unfolded. We laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in the Memorial Peace Park, Hiroshima and we had an audience with an 87 year old, Teruko Yahata, who survived the bombing. She had no hard feelings towards the Americans describing the whole experience as “we are all perpetrators and we are all victims”. I know without the bombing we would not be here today.

We experienced the Bullet Train, toured Miyajima Island – World Cultural Heritage, some of the Japanese cultures and explored Kyoto and Osaka before flying back to Melbourne.

More than 80,000 Allied POW’s and Asian Labourers died building the railway, succumbing to exhaustion, starvation, disease and their captors brutality. My father along with my two uncles marched the 316km to help build the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway. My uncles did not survive.

I felt very privileged to be part of this journey, to seek closure and felt they were extremely genuine in their acknowledgement, understanding and the display of remorse for the way their forefathers had treated the POWs.

POW Daughter’s Journey of Reconciliation

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